(a) Field of the Invention
The subject automatic auxiliary charging system for a storage battery, including battery charge level surveillance (monitoring), uses an engine generator to supply auxiliary charging power to the battery, in order for the battery to maintain an adequately charged condition, and further to preferentially supply power to a load.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional batteries, by reason of their portability, compactness, and utility, are frequently used for purposes of emergency power storage, or as a means of power supply to motor driven implements, power driven tooling, or more generally as a D.C. power supply. A disadvantage of such batteries, however, is their relatively short service life, which is exacerbated where a higher output is required. On the other hand, attempts to enlarge the battery in order to increase output inevitably involve unacceptable cost or weight increases. At least some of these disadvantages are overcome by the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,000, to the inventor, entitled Storage Battery Auxiliary Charging System with Surveillance Functions. The inventor, however, has found through more subsequent RandD efforts that further improvements as regards the performance feature of the system are possible to make the entire system more versatile and compatible with different systems.
The subject automatic storage battery auxiliary charging system compares a charge value controlled by an artificial control, or the charge value set in a central control unit CCU, with a testing signal produced by a battery charge monitoring circuit operating in line with said artificial control or CCU, so as to drive, in a controlled manner, an auxiliary power supply, which may be in the form of a D.C. power supply converted from a line voltage, or to drive an engine generator directly, the auxiliary charging circuit being equipped with a variety of operative functions as options.